The Dragon Hand
by Blue - The First Traveller
Summary: A mysterious dragon hunter bases himself on Berk and seems to have a strange interest in the actions of Hiccup and Astrid. What does The Dragon Hand see in the runt? And what does it have to do with Berk's finest teen warrior?
1. This Is Berk (Hiccup)

Berk. A fairly large island located on the east of the meridian of misery, it acts as a small centre piece in the barbaric archipelago. It is also the island that hosts my village, an iron fortress that no outcast, pirate or berserker can penetrate. The only thing that can penetrate it are the monsters that stalk the wilds, and raid the civilizations of our people. They are -

"Dragons," the watchman screamed from outside my house. Looking up from my sketchbook, I jumped off my wooden stool and opened my bedroom window. I peered to my left and watched the chaos. Axes, swords and bolas glinted in the light of the dragon's flames. I was in awe at our powerful warriors, but that awe turned to fear very quickly when a ball of magma came hurtling towards me. I closed the shutter and ducked down just as the fireball exploded, leaving a chunk my roof in nothing but splinters and ash. I rushed to my desk, grabbed my sketchbook and made a dash for the battlefield. I opened the front door and looked out to see one of the large monsters being grounded as our neighbour, Phlegma the Fierce locked its snout in her massive hairy arms. I ran out of the house and tried to look for a way that I could help in the battle against the demonic beasts.

Dragons, in case you didn't know, are giant reptilian monsters that dominate the open air with savage bloodlust, razor sharp claws and teeth, and the unique ability to breathe fire. Most people would flee at the sight of dragons ripping through the air, unleashing a bombardment of fire. But we do not, for we are vikings. We take the beasts head on with the ability of co-ordination and the might of our weapons, and we never relent.

My name is Hiccup, not the best name but certainly not the worst. Adults give their children hideous or intimidating names to protect us from gnomes and trolls and other dark creatures, though most of us scare them off easily with a glare. A prime example of intimidating is Stoick the Vast, the chief of Berk. He is respected by vikings even beyond our island; he popped a dragon's head off its neck when he was just a baby, isn't that the coolest thing ever. He is also my father but you wouldn't be able to tell that my father was the powerful, bulky and fearless leader everyone knows he is. Why? Because I'm everything my dad isn't. I'm weak, scrawny and I don't think recklessly running through a battlefield, which is what I'm currently doing, counts as fearless.

I was zigzagging along the village, when an axe came hurtling from the sky, cutting a few strands off of my furs, and then embedding itself into the dirt by my feet. Naturally I wrapped my hands around the handle and hoisted the weapon over my shoulder. Well, I tried to, but the axe was wedged deep into the dirt. I pulled on the weapon with all my might and in hopes that I would somehow develop asgardian strength and charge into to battle, striking fears into the hearts of dragons.

"Hiccup," someone yelled, but I ignored them. Suddenly something lifted me by the neck of my shirt and lifted me in the air. I could feel a sharp but precise pain in my back as my feet left the ground, in my panic I started lashing out at the dragon. As my palm slapped against its skin I felt it's, hair? Opening my eyes I was met with face of a man with an oversized lower jaw that displayed his lower teeth, including a metal fake one. His moustache was braided so that his it looked like a yellow sausage snaking over his top lip and drooped down his face.

Gobber the Belch a large man who acted as my guardian whenever my dad is out cheifing or dragon fighting, I don't really need a guardian, I just let Gobber hang around because I don't want him to feel unused. He hoisted the earthbound axe onto his shoulder and began running towards the forge, with me still hanging by his hook hand. He lost his real hand to dragon that gobbled it up; many people in Berk have lost a limb, or in Gobber's case two.

Once in the safety of the forge Gobber lowered me back onto the ground and went to sharpening the axe from outside. The forge released gagging smoke and intense heat from the fire pit use to meld metal, I'd come here so often that these things didn't particularly bother me. I glared at Gobber as he continued to grind the axe.

"I loosened that out you know," I stated trying to defend some of my dignity. Gobber looked from his work and gave me a humorous smile.

"Sure you did, Hiccup" he replied with incredibly dry sarcasm. Silence fell between as stood there, gaping at one another as we each replayed what he had said. I'm not sure how long we were stuck like that because it wasn't until the axe chipped did we break out of our trance. On refocused Gobber grumbled "I need to get away from you. You're starting to rub off on me,"

"You should be honoured to have the traits of the chief's line," I retorted, grinning widely the entire time.

"I get enough chief traits from your father, I don't need a toothpick's as well,"

"Who are you calling toothpick, Meathead?"

"Who are you calling meathead, Toothpick?"

"Eel Nose,"

"Fishbone,"

"One Arm," Gobber opened his mouth to retort, stopped, started again, but finally settled for grumbling. I won. He scuttled towards the counter and placed the axe there, immediately it was snatched by a passing viking. I knew I wouldn't be able to sneak out to fight again with Gobber on watch, so I settled for measuring up all the dragons that flew through the village.

The Deadly Nadder, a bird-like dragon that shot magnesium flames from its mouth and poisonous spines from its tail. The Hideous Zippleback, a twin headed dragon that made it twice as dangerous. The Lash Whipper, a frilled dragon with a long tail that could slice a viking in half. The Gronckle, a near invulnerable dragon that shoots faming balls of magma. And finally, the Monstrous Nightmare, a dragon that can set itself aflame making it the second greatest kill on the island.

But the greatest kill of all has to be the Night Fury, a dragon that cannot be seen and can never miss a shot. Not many believe in the dragon because there has been no recorded sighting in over 30 years. But I know it's out there just waiting to be killed by my hand. A turned back to Gobber who was busy remoulding a mace, suddenly an idea came to mind and I opened my mouth to voice it but Gobber beat me to the punch.

"No, your father doesn't need me right now," he called without even facing me. I crossed my arms and decided to look through my sketchbook. A multitude of images momentarily stole my gaze as I flipped through the pages. Dragons, vikings, weapons and a whole manor of landscape drawings blanketed the pages with charcoal marks. I was proud of each and every one of my drawings, but only one them managed to stop me in my tracks.

It was a picture of a beautiful girl around my age with beautiful big eyes which black charcoal could not impersonate if it tried. A single braid of hair draped down her neck, as oppose to the two puffy braids she once wore 2 years ago. She stood on a cliff, leaning against her mother's axe with a determined look on her face as she watched the waves crashing before her. She was beautiful, a goddess in every sense of the word and her name even stated it – Astrid.

Astrid and I were close friends, we would always play games together, she would defend me when I was attacked, and I would also make her feel better when she was sad. But after her uncle Finn died, she has done nothing but make sure that she can one day restore her family name. Being without Astrid has affected me more than you would think. Without her there to defend me the other kids have a clear chance at bullying me, without her there to push me forward I don't have the confidence to push on, without her divine presence all my luck is shot.

But I don't blame her; if she associates herself with me she loses her chance to clear the Hofferson family name. So I can understand why she keeps her distance and I hold nothing against her. If it's anyone's fault it's everyone else's. They never give me a chance to prove myself, I could be one of them if they just gave me sword and taught me how to use it I would have ended this war by now. But instead they let me become the runt of the litter, not allowing me to unleash my viking prowess. Anger began to rage through me as I began pointing fingers and giving reasons for the guilt, until my Astrid picture stole my eyes again. I could blame everyone but her, and Gobber. She had done so much for me and so long she was with me, whether in body or on vellum, nothing could go wrong.

"Looking at her again, are you?" The sudden close voice in my ear shocked me causing to tumble off of the desk, thus beginning a circuit of destruction. I knocked over the anvil, which clattered into a shelf, causing a shield to slide off and roll to a weapon rack holding Gobber's hammer attachment, which fell onto one side of the cooling trough, causing water to splash out onto the fire pit. My luck has gotten so bad that one stumble can stop the production of essential weapons.

I winced at the problem I caused, slowly turning to face Gobber who looked at me, eye brows raised to form a 'Really?' look on his face. Not knowing how to respond I simply shrugged and threw in an apologetic smile. He released an exasperated groan as he removed his tong attachment and replaced it with an axed appendage.

"Since the forge is out of action, I may as well make myself useful," he stated as made to leave the forge, he then stopped, turned and looked to me for a few seconds before pointing at me. "Stay where you are," he commanded before unleashing a battle cry and charging into the flaming warzone. I waited a few seconds so that the large man could distance himself from the building, that way I could be clear of the area before he could see that I was gone.

I grinned as I hopped over to a weapon rack and picked up a sword. Now that I had some leverage and no tough dirt to offer resistance, I was able to swing the sword onto my shoulder, after five seconds of spinning around trying to control the weapon. Once in control I rested the blade on my shoulder and marched out into the fray.

**The first chapter of my first story, it feels good to have this up. Please don't forget to review and tell me what you think. Grammatical editing goes to LeisaTheGreat. Check out her stories, though I'm sure you already have.**


	2. Why Do The Gods Hate Me? (Hiccup)

I stopped in my tracks as I looked out to my home, almost losing my grip on the sword to the shock of what my eyes presented. The battlefield was nightmarish, war cries rung out from both dragon and viking as they swung their blades at one another. Fire was everywhere, on houses, in fields; even the sheep ran aimlessly leaving a trail of fire in its path. One of said sheep was whisked away into a dragon's talon as it flew back to whence it came.

This is why dragons raid us; they come to our village to steal all our livestock for themselves. They take everything and destroy everything and everyone to get to it all before mourning approaches. And this is why we vikings fight, cowering will run us out of house and home, and leaving the island will have us all stranded at sea. But it isn't a matter of no options that causes us to fight, it's our boundless courage and unlimited determination that pushes at the enemy. We are not just viking, we are the Hairy Hooligan tribe, the men of Berk, and the ones who will end this war.

"I'm a viking," I whispered, as my eyes met a Gronckle that was heading for Ack's fishing rack. I raised my sword high and yelled at the top of my voice "I AM A VIKING," I charged towards the reptile as it began it hovered over the back of Ack's house. It saw me charged towards it and its eyes turned to slits, its mouth parted to bear its gnarly yellow teeth, and it released a guttural snarl. Immediately all my courage was drained and I stared wide eyed at stout monster that hovered towards me.

_'What were you thinking?'_ I chastised myself _'You can't take on that thing, you'll be chewed up, spat out, burnt, then chewed up,'_ I really shouldn't have let those thoughts invade my mind, because the gruesome images left me completely paralyzed, and at the Gronckle's mercy. It opened its jaw as wide as possible and I could see the back of its throat glowing, the magma in its stomach was building up, to turn me into cinders. I screwed my eyes shut and waited for the ball of lava to end me.

But it never came, instead of feeling the hot liquid dowsing me in dooming fluid; I heard a startling screech of pain. I opened my eyes to see the Gronckle wriggling on its side, trying to escape a figure I had never seen before, as he pressed his hand against the monster's underbelly. He turned to me and I took in his appearance.

I wasn't even sure if he was a viking, he looked as though he was in his teens and he was skinny like me. He wore a white attire which looked a little bit big for him; I could only see his fingers coming out of the sleeves. His head donned a hood which masked all but his mouth in shadow. That's when I noticed that he had no weapon of any sort, how was he able to kill that dragon without a blade?

"You should not be out here, young one," he spoke in soft yet frightening voice that snapped back to reality. He then pointed for me to leave and I did not need telling twice. I rushed back to towards the hall, the hooded man on my mind the entire time, and I kept trying to understand how he managed to kill a dragon without an axe or a hammer, or even a dagger. As I my body moved my wondering mind back to the forge a battle cry rung through my ears and caught my attention.

Normally such common things as a viking war call, common even without dragon raids, wouldn't catch my attention. But this one sounded almost like a valkyrie, but that's the effect a dream girl can have on you, everything they do is amazing. For me that goes double for Astrid, everything she does is perfect. Her smooth pinked skin glistened in light of the fire, her beautiful blue eyes shone with icy determination, her golden hair bounced in its braid as she charged straight at a Lash Whipper.

The dragon whirled to see her charging, axe raised to strike, and let out a shrill cry from its parrot like beak. I watched as its incredibly long tail knocked the axe right out of Astrid's lean fingers. The tail came down to strike head but she tiger-rolled away from the attack, her new position putting her closer to her axe. She continued to gracefully dodge the massive tail as the dragon more and more agitated, and Astrid drew closer and closer to the fallen weapon.

Unfortunately the gods had decided not to smile on her today, the dragon realised her strategy. The beast leaped onto the other side of Astrid, landing so that its lanky front paw pinned the blade to the ground. Astrid attempted to draw the dragon to step forward, but the large demon wasn't falling for her tricks, it blasted a small torrent of flame at her which she easily dodged. The Lash Whipper then moved its foot from the axe, but before Astrid could make a move to retrieve it, the beast clutched the handle with it tail and sent the blade spinning through the air.

Astrid battle face fell, without her weapon there was no way she could take on the dragon now, knowing this the monster opened its beak and prepared a second torrent of fire to end the shocked-still blonde. Strangely the image was getting closer and closer towards me. That's when I realised that my sword was raised in a combat position' and my teeth were gritted in pure rage, and my legs were striding as they rushed me towards the Lash Whipper. That mindless creature was going to kill the one who played with me, the one who protected me, who gave me the greatest memories ever. She was my one true anchor to this world and I'm not about to let her die.

"Leave her alone," I roared as I brought the blade down on the monster to end its life. The gods weren't smiling on me either, which shouldn't have surprised me as much as it did, because the sword bent then snapped as it hit the dragon's side. Of all the blades I picked up in the forge, I grabbed the one that needed repairing. The dragon turned towards me slowly, its eye slits evidencing its mindless rage.

Once again my courage was sapped from me and I took slow nervous steps back. The dragon continued to stare at me before it lashed out. It used its tail to grab Astrid around the waist and hold her in the air, while simultaneously pouncing on me and pinning me to the ground. My head hit the hard dirt to fast that all the blood in my body seemed to rush to my head, nearly making me faint. The dragon had me at its mercy, it will kill me in the most horrific and agonising way, but that wasn't my main concern. Astrid will be constricted in the Lash Whipper's powerful tail and slowly suffocate, unless I did something.

I noticed the broken blade of my sword, lying a few inches away from me. I attempted to reach for it, stretching my arm as far as it would go, my fingers grasping at air just hoping to find some purchase on the sharp metal. Then the dragon took in a deep breath and I knew there was no way for me to grab the blade, kill the beast, and save Astrid. I look straight at her as she swung suspended in the air beating at the scaly tail with her fists.

"I'm sorry," I said and closed my eyes waiting for the inevitable. The Lash Whipper suddenly screeched and the weight of its paw was lifted from me. I rolled on to my front and lifted myself to see what had killed the dragon. There he was, knelt at the dragon side, his palm and on the monster's underbelly as it spasmed on its side. The white hooded man, who saved me from the Gronckle not seconds ago. A groan came from the side of me, I turned to see Astrid lying on her back clutching at her head. The hooded man walked towards her and bent down over her. I lifted myself up and moved to shove him away, even though it probably wouldn't do much I had to try and protect her. Before my hands could hit his side, the man lifted a hand to me. I'm not sure if it was a signal of surrender or a threat of attack, but his intimidating persona had me leaning towards the second option.

"I do not mean her harm, young one," he said in his strong – soft voice. He then lifted Astrid in his arms and turned to me. "Do you know a safe place we can take her?" he asked. Instantly I forgot about the questioning the strange man and focused on where to take Astrid. The forge was not ideal because there far too much stuff clattered around to lay her down. Gobber should really clean up that place.

Getting to Astrid's house meant taking her through the major parts of the village, where the most battles were taking place, and running through an army of dragons and viking when your only protector is carrying an unconscious girl is not the greatest of strategies. My house had already taken damage so that wasn't an option. The only safe place would be –

"The great hall," I exclaimed, before rushing to steps of that lead to the large doors in the side of the mountain. Why hadn't I thought of that place first? It has large thick doors and the mountain acts as a shield around it. My feet pedalled forward as I neared the base of the steps, the white cloaked man a few steps behind me with Astrid in his hands.

"Don't worry, Astrid," I whispered under my breath "I'll make sure you're safe," On my way up to the steps I saw Gobber knocking a Zippleback on one of its heads, while another viking pinned the other head to the ground. Once the Zippleback went limp, Gobber turned around and looked straight at me with an astonished face, but the worst was yet to come. The viking pinning the dragon also turned to reveal his face.

Gunner Hofferson, Astrid's father, eyed the hooded stranger, then Astrid as she lay in his arms, before finally turning his eyes to me. His face grew livid and his bored into my soul. His thundered towards us, Gobber following as he shook his head and let out a long tired sigh. I looked to Astrid as she lay in their arms, I knew exactly what they were thinking, that it was my fault Astrid is hurt and they are probably right.

"Lead on," the stranger said to me "We need to get her out of the open," he explained.

"They're going to want to talk to me," I said pointing to the two approaching men. Gunnar looked ready to rip off my head; he was even cracking his knuckles as he approached.

"They can talk to you inside, where she has better chance of surviving," I didn't argue for two reasons. One, he was right Astrid's safety was our priority, not explaining to my elders. Two, I really didn't want to explain to my elders at all, so I jumped at the opportunity to avoid it. We hustled up the steps, ducking as a Nadder passed overhead with a lamb in each of its talons, and I pushed open the giant door to allow the stranger entrance into the ginormous fortress. He carefully set Astrid down on one of the tables.

"We'll wait here," he declared "Until she regains consciousness," I nodded as a massive creak and slam was heard from the doors of the hall.

"HICCUP HORRENDOUS HADDOCK THE THIRD," Gunnar boomed as his massive steps echoed through the hall. Why do the gods hate me?

* * *

**Why indeed. I don't think Mr Hofferson is happy, let's hope he only 'partially' mutilates Hiccup. See 'round next time. Grammar editing by LeisaTheGreat.**


	3. Dragon Hand (Stoick-Hiccup)

**Just to let you know your about to read to different P.O.V's I'll let you work out whose is whose.**

* * *

As a viking, you must protect your family, provide for them, care for them, and console them when they are troubled. As a viking chief, your prioritises are the same but they extend to not only your household, but your entire village. Many who were given this burden embraced it, proud that the village looked up to them before anyone else, others threw themselves over cliffs because of the stress.

When my father told me that I would have to, one day, take up this role, I was on the fence of these two groups. I wasn't exactly prideful, but I wasn't afraid either, I was uncertain. Uncertain of my ability to lead a village, uncertain of my birthright, and uncertain of my capability to follow my family legacy. My dad saw my uncertainty so he took me out into the forest behind our house, not telling me where we were going or why. We eventually stopped outside of a clearing, the grass blades reached up to my boots, twisting and bending with the wind. A sparse number of yellow flowers dotted around the small field and at its centrepiece was a large rock that rooted itself very firmly into the tough dirt.

My father stood by the rock and told me to bang my head against it. When he gave me that command I looked at him as if he'd gone crazy, before shrugging my shoulders and stepping forward. I knew better than to question my father's intentions, he always did things for a reason even if I didn't agree with them. I stood in front of the boulder, looking to my father once more confirmation of his order. He simply nodded, gesturing to the rock. I squeezed my eyes together and thrust my head against the stone surface. The sound of something cracking rung in ears and I cried out in pain, nursing my head as my father chuckled, I glared at him with anger until he spoke.

"It's not your head that's cracked, son," he stated in his thick accent. I looked back to the boulder and received the shock of my life. The rock had split in two; a ginormous crack ran right through it. I turned back to my father, an expression of disbelief plastered to my face as he grinned widely.

"You see son," he said jovially gesturing to the two stone segments "This is what a viking can do, he can crush mountains, level forests, tame seas. If you can crush that rock, Stoick," he said kneeling down in front of me, his large arms on my shoulders "Then you can lead a village," It was on that day that I realised what I was and what I had to live up to, and thanks to father I wasn't afraid what was expected of me.

"Stoick, Nightmare incoming," Skjor Thorston yelled to me, snapping my attention from my thoughts. I turned to where he pointed to see a demon, coated in flames, which made it look as though it came from the pits of Muspelheim itself. The Monstrous Nightmare, only the best vikings are able to take on these beasts, and as chief that includes me. I charged the creature, ignoring the flames that licked its body and pounded my hammer against its skull. The Nightmare screeched in pain, turning to face me it snapped its giant maw at my hand trying to crush it in its massive teeth. I sidestepped to the left and delivered a swift blow to the dragon's eye, its juices oozing onto the stone head of my hammer. Before the monster had a chance to attack again, I brought my hammer down on its neck, crushing its windpipe and leaving to choke on the dirt.

I looked over the battlefield, watching as viking attacked dragon with stone and metal. We were losing sheep and fish because of these mindless reptiles, but thanks to our catapults taking down large numbers of the beasts, we weren't losing what we couldn't recover. In fact we were, in a sense, winning the monsters weren't able to take much from us, fairly soon they'd learn that they won't survive if they continue their raids and will leave us be.

Suddenly an unknown sound echoed over the island, causing us, even some of the dragons, to stop and listen. It was a strange whistling sound, like something was ripping through air like a sword through grass. The dragons then began chirping and trilling in apparent excitement as I tried to find where the sound was coming from, it was like it was everywhere at once. Then the whistling stopped, just as a catapult suddenly exploded into pieces. Shrapnel and timber came falling from the tower.

I couldn't fathom what happened; our catapult had just exploded on its own accord, no explanation. Hiccup, it just had to be, he was probably trying to use the device himself. Nothing and no one else could just destroy something of huge importance without being enchanted by Loki. I don't like to think of the boy as that, but what other is there to describe a child who has the ability to make a huge mess out of everything?

I began looking over the battlefield for the boy to give him the chastising he needed. When the same whistle came again from above, the culprit wasn't Hiccup. It was a dragon, believed to be legend, known toppling villages without anyone catching a glimpse.

"Night Fury," Skjor called to everyone who immediately panicked.

"Get down," I yelled it was the only piece of advice I could offer. I grabbed a cart to the side of me and used it to cover me from the dragon's legendary fire. Vikings around me did the same, and the dragons around took advantage of our defensive position to move in on the unprotected sheep. By the end of the night most of our livestock was being carted away by the demonic creatures. The Night Fury had managed to destroy all our catapults and a part of our armoury, there was no chance of rebuilding before the next raid. I just thought the day couldn't get much worse, until I heard an all too familiar name,"

"HICCUP HORRENDOUS HADDOK THE THIRD," roared a voice from the open door of the great hall. I let out an exasperated sigh as Skjor came to my side a placed a hand on my shoulder.

"How is your boy is able to cause more trouble than my two without even trying," I knew he was trying to lighten my mood but it wasn't exactly working. We just lost a raid, the village was heavily damaged, and the only livestock we had left were a few chickens and a baby yak. The last thing I needed to deal with right now was a 'Hiccup' situation.

I reluctantly walked up the steps, preparing to face what my boy had done. I walked through the door and saw a strange white hooded teenager, standing with his arms crossed in between Gunnar Hofferson and my son. Gobber was standing behind Gunnar trying to calm him down, clearly the lanky stranger and Gunnar were arguing. Hiccup spotted me; he looked guiltily at me and stepped away from behind the stranger. He then turned to a figure who was lying on one of the tables, Astrid Hofferson. I should have guessed, I knew Hiccup had a thing for the Hofferson child, it only made sense that he was involved in any predicament she faced.

"What has my boy done this time?" I yelled getting everyone's attention. Gunnar wheeled round and got right in my face.

"Your boy," he said pointing at the child who was now fidgeting with his thumbs nervously, "has nearly killed my daughter,"

"How so, Gunnar?" I said angered at the accusation. Hiccup had done many stupid things, but I refused to believe he was stupid enough to get someone killed.

"That boy angered a dragon, causing it to come after him and my daughter," his accusation actually made sense, though I hated to admit it. I turned to Gobber to hear what he had to say, he simply shrugged telling me he could vouch for neither side.

"That boy saved the girl's life," the stranger spoke, his hood caused shadow to cover his entire face, his voice sounded oddly ominous, his entire attitude and appearance was unnerving. Gunnar turned his glare to the teen, hovering over him. The boy remained still not even threatened by the man who could literally toss him out of the hall.

"Don't you involve yourself in this," Gunnar hissed at the teen. "You're not from here, an-"

"I was a witness to what happened, I deserve my say," the white clad boy interupted, his voice slightly darkening, making Gunnar step back in surprise.

The hooded teen continued, "When I saw the dragon, your daughter was fighting it, alone. I ran over to assist her, but by the time I was half way there, she was pinned and finished. I would have never been able to reach her in time, if Hiccup hadn't stalled the beast,"

Hiccup shifted uncomfortably on his feet, rubbing his neck and looking away from everyone. Gunnar huffed in disagreement refusing to believe what he said. He opened his mouth to argue but a groan interupted him from behind Hiccup.

Astrid sat up, clutching at her head and gritting her teeth in pain. Hiccup was up and by her side in an instant, rambling a number of apologies to the girl. The hooded stranger chuckled and tapped Hiccup's shoulder to get his attention.

"Easy, young one," he said in a cheery voice. "She fell on her head, and I don't think a constant string of loud noises in her ear is going to help her heal,"

Hiccup shut his mouth and turned to Astrid and whispered "I'm so sorry," to the girl. The young girl glared at the lanky child and moved to get off the tale, only to be pushed down by the hooded teen.

"Easy, you gonna have a concussion after that blow to the head, so you lie back for a few minutes so that your senses can stop spinning," he smiled to her, releasing his grip on her when he felt she stopped resisting. I finally had enough with this mysterious outsider; I stepped up to him and stared coldly at him.

"Who are you?" I asked the boy who turned to face me, an emotionless expression on his face.

"I am the Dragon Hand," he stated "I am a dragon hunter gifted by Odin with the ability to down a dragon with my touch," Hiccup then whispered still clearly worried for Astrid.

"It's true, he just put his hand on that Lash Whipper and it keeled over,"

"And why are you on Berk?" I questioned, we could use a dragon hunter on the island to help with the raids.

"I am here because I'm tailing a specific prize," he explained, I didn't need to guess what he was hunting, but he voiced it anyway. "The Night Fury,"

Gunnar then started laughing "The Night Fury is just a legend, it doesn't even exist," he stated between guffaws.

"It does," I grumbled "It just attacked us, allowed the other dragons to take all our livestock," I looked back at the hooded hunter and relaxed my face into a calmer expression. "How long are you planning to stay here?"

Dragon Hand in turn shrugged "With your permission, until that infernal devil moves or when I kill it," I grunted in agreement and shook his hand to confirm it.

* * *

Dad, Dragon Hand, Gobber and Gunnar all made their way out of the hall, my father and the hunter appeared to be discussing the terms of his stay. I felt a wave of relief wash over me when I realised dad wouldn't skin me alive, this time. I'd have to thank Dragon Hand, but why? Why would he defend a fishbone like me? No one would knowingly do that, then again he wasn't very muscly either so maybe that was why.

"I didn't need your help, you know?" a heavenly but equally angry voice came from behind me. I slowly turned to see Astrid, sat up, glaring at me with her beautiful blue eyes. Despite how I felt about her, I couldn't help but feel scared by her anger.

"A-Astrid," I stuttered trying to think of what to say, but she cut me off.

"Look, Hiccup. I'm not some defenceless damsel who needs saving, I can take of myself," she declared, holding her head up high to support this claim. I didn't know how to respond without upsetting her, so I just hung my head and said the only thing I have ever said to everyone except Gobber.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"Yeah? Well you will be if you try it again," she warned, hopping off the table and walking past me. She was three paces away from me, before she turned to face me. It was then that I saw something I hadn't seen in years and hoped I would never see again, Astrid was crying.

Well not exactly crying, more like tearing up, but it hurt me just as bad. She then walked back to me and hugged me and I heard her sniffle against my tunic.

"I'm sorry Hiccup," she croaked in my ear. "I didn't mean it, I just-," I decided to interrupt, she wasn't doing herself any favours.

"Astrid, I get it," I spoke softly trying to keep her from crying for real. "You need to prove that the Hoffersons aren't weak. And to do that you need to harden yourself," I reluctantly pushed away from our embrace to look her right into her eyes. "I don't expect you to be the same as before the Flightmare. I expect you to be tougher, braver and that's just what you're becoming. You don't need to worry about being meaner to me, because I know that in your heart you don't mean it,"

She looked at me for a few seconds before nodding. Unexpectedly a few bangs of her fell in front of her eye, masking it in beautiful gold. Astrid reached up to move them back in place, but I stopped her by carefully grabbing her wrist.

"Don't do that," I said smiling "It looks cute like that," I swear all the heat from the sun concentrated onto my face when I said that, and it looked as though Astrid was suffering from the same thing.

"Thanks," she said. Then she raised a fist and punched me on the shoulder. I instinctively clutched at the wound and looked at her, hurt. "That's for trying to be a hero," she declared smirking at me, letting me know it was just a joke. Then she didn't something I don't think either of us expected, she grabbed my tunic and placed her lips on my cheek.

"What was that one for?" I asked, face redder than a rose. Astrid eyes were wide and she became extremely flustered.

"Th-That was be-because um, because," she stuttered trying to word what she wanted to say. She then breathed to calm herself down and spoke again. "That was for, everthing else," she then ran out of the hall, leaving me to watch her beautiful form escape through the doors.

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**That's it, prologue complete, now the REAL story begins. I hope you enjoyed what you've seen so far, it's awesome writing this. LeisaTheGreat checked this story and says I made no mistakes this time, yay for me. Anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapter, see ya peeps.**


	4. A Place Amongst Them (Hiccup)

For some reason that dragon raid 9 years ago had been on my mind recently, it was the last time Astrid and I had spoken or practically looked at one another. We would sometimes exchange short glances, but those were always accidental and she would always glare at me for it. That memory popped up in my head often enough, if only to remember that kiss, but for the past week or so it has been on my mind, all day, every day.

"Hiccup," a voice jerked me from my thoughts. I looked up from my plate to face Balder. Balder Blesi is not from Berk, he washed up with the wreckage of a long boat when I was 6. His parents had supposedly died in a hurricane that swept up the long boat. Balder had stayed on the island since then, acting as bartender in the great hall, serving drinks, and making delicious cuisine that is apparently common where he comes from. I swear to Odin himself, if Balder could meet the regular needs to enter Valhalla, the gods would allow him in, simply to eat his cooking.

"What is it?" I asked slightly annoyed that Balder had bothered me, though I do appreciate his attention. He is the only friend I have on Berk, well only current friend. He would all check on me when we passed, we'd often swap witty put-downs, and he is a good listener, I have even told him some of my closest secrets without him forcing them out of me. Balder twirled a chicken on the rotating spit and dribbled one of his various sauces over the perfectly cooked bird.

"I was just wondering if you wanted some chicken with your plate," he grinned childishly, as he looked at my confused state. I looked back to my plate and saw that it was indeed empty, I had been so locked in thought I had been eating thin air for-. "Thirty minutes," Balder stated, as if reading my mind. I sighed at his antic as he kept grinning like a cheshire cat, absentmindedly drying a tankard.

"Is there something you actually want?" I asked.

"Yeah, you to stop scratching at the plates, that's a waste of wood right there,"

"I'd be more concerned about our food supply, the fishing boats came empty again today,"

Balder's smile seemed to falter for a few milliseconds, before rising "Geez, tell me about it, I haven't made battered cod in months," I unintentionally hummed in delight at the thought of that delicious crust that only Balder could make. Balder laughed at my reaction and I couldn't help but laugh along with him.

"Speaking of fish," Balder said as he calmed down "Could you take this basket of herbs to the Ingerman's?" he asked, while presenting a medium sized basket. "I'm overrun here,"

I raised an eyebrow and looked around the great hall. Granted, there were a large number of people in the ginormous building, but I knew it was nothing Balder couldn't handle. "Doesn't look very busy," I informed, as I was finishing my sweep of the hall, my eyes fell on Astrid. Her appearance had really changed all that much from 9 years ago; her hair was still tied in a simple braid that hung down her back. Her brown tunic from all those years was now replaced with sleeveless shirt, that lined her lithe frame with various shades of blue. She was sitting a large table with her friends, near the entrance to the hall. That's when I cottoned on to what my snake of a friend was up to.

I turned my head slowly back to the young adult whose cheshire grin had widened and eyebrows had begun wiggling very suggestively. I scowled as I took the basket and made my way to the door. I didn't even argue with Balder for two reasons. One - This isn't the first time the bartender had tried to put me in close proximity with Astrid. Meaning he had learnt all my protests and knew how to counter act them, Two – I truthfully really did want to get closer to Astrid just to see her reaction, even if I already knew what it would be. She'd just ignore me or send me one of her legendary glares if I manage at least catch her attention.

I decided to keep my gaze off Astrid directly, to avoid her noticing me staring, and looked over to her table guests.

On the opposite end of the table were the Thorston twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut. These two were the island's most feared pranksters, they are notorious for tipping yaks, stealing essentials, one time they somehow managed to steal my dad's favourite mace from the armoury, which was guarded by six men and every entrance was locked ad shut, checked nearly every minute. How they pulled that one off I'll never know. You can always tell when there up to something thanks to the grinning of the male twin, and the cackling of the female twin. When they are not tearing apart Berk, which can be surprisingly often, they are fighting amongst themselves. Now I have no sibling to prove myself correct, but I don't think sibling rivalry should involve bashing the other's skull against a stone wall. But Ruffnut has proudly claimed that if you hit her brother's skull in just the right way, you can play a song on him. They can supposedly get into trouble anywhere, even in an empty room.

On one of the table ends sat a giant of a viking teen with incredible muscle, though despite this Fishlegs is a very gentle soul. Like me, he is not a typical 'hit what makes you angry' kind of viking, in fact he was the exact opposite. He's kind, gentle, and detests violence and always tries to avoid it. You may be asking 'If Fishlegs is the same as me how he has friends and I don't?' The answer is simple, while Fishlegs is not a traditional viking he is far from being unviking-like. Not only does he has the muscles of a warrior, but also the knowledge of an elder. He knows everything there is to know about anything, traditions, rules, lore, history, and most importantly dragons. He knows the Dragon Manual inside and out, which makes him incredibly useful when you need quick facts on our reptilian enemies.

But the one I feared the most was sat right next to Astrid, his big muscly arm hovering to wrap around her shoulders. Snotlout Jorgenson, my cousin and tormentor, nothing could compare to the tortures my cousin would inflict upon me when I was little, except maybe the things he does to me now. The most tormenting thing he ever did was taunt and laugh at me when Astrid began hanging out with him and the other teens instead of me. Though I'm used to his bullying and fighting now, so I just ignore him and if he chooses to attack, I will endure it. The only thing that Snotlout can do to really get to me angry, which I hide very well, is flirting with Astrid, like he is right now. It's not that I'm jealous, I'm not, it's just Astrid's expression, words, and the fact that she has just now dislocated his elbow makes it obvious that she is not interested. But still Snotlout continues day after day to treat her like 'his' girl.

I realised I had stopped my pace and quickly resumed my walk out of the hall. Hopefully no one noticed me and had noticed me or, in Astrid's case, decided to ignore me, that way I could leave without any ridicule. Unfortunately the gods had I decided that I needed some attention at that moment.

"Hey, Fishstick," Ruffnut called, a dark grin spreading across her face. Everyone's eyes turned to me, except for Tuffnut who turned to her sister, then me, then her sister again. He punched the back of her head before speaking.

"It's Fishbone, idiot," I rolled my eyes as the two siblings began one of their fifteenth fight of the day, that I knew of. While Tuffnut was busy pinning his sister to their bench in a very uncomfortable fashion, Snotlout decided to restart Ruffnut's torment attempt.

"What you been up to, cus?" he asked grinning, "picking pretty flowers for your collection?" he attempted to speak in a feminine voice but it sounded more like a squeaking mouse. From behind him I could see Fishlegs raising his hand and opening his mouth slightly, before lowering his arm and keeping his mouth shut.

'Smart move, Legs,' I thought, I'm a little upset that Fishlegs didn't come to my defence, and explain that the basket in my hands was his family's order, though that could result on Snotlout turning on the boy. While Fishlegs could easily knock down Snotlout at least twelve pegs and run the group, he is far too gentle and cowardly to take such actions; just a cold stare from my black haired cousin could give the shy teen nightmares.

I exaggerated an eye roll and turned to keep going, from the corner of my eyes I saw Astrid shaking head at my retreating figure, no emotion displayed on her face. Pushing the door open with my foot, I escaped into the open air of the island. As I took the steps down I gave a short thank you to the gods above, they may have but me in that situation but at least they didn't kept back the more hurtful insults and kept Snotlout's fists at his sides.

As I finished my prayer, I looked up to the skies and the intricate, white designs that the clouds added to the sky above as the red horizon slowly lessened and a dark blue to control of the canvas. I watched as the clouds slowly paced over the skyline, in no rush to be anywhere at anywhen. No need to concern about anything. Sometimes I wish I could be amongst the clouds away from the expectations of lineage and elders. A sigh escaped my lips as I directed my eyes back to in front of me and continued to the Ingerman household.

I lightly tapped the door with my foot causing it open enough for me to enter, even though Berk trusted people enough to enter their houses, I felt at wrong for being inside the building. I almost feel like Fishlegs' father is going to appear out of thin air and kill me for trespassing before I have a chance to explain myself, not as if he would care anyway. Despite what you might think the village's opinion of me has changed, and if it has it's only gotten worse. Some people even believe I was sent by Loki to bring about an end to the tribe, and honestly it would surprise me if they're right.

I shook those thoughts from my head, I shouldn't think like that, because I plan to change everyone's opinion of me, by killing a dragon. But not just a Nadder or a Gronckle, not even a simple Spitsnap. I plan on holding up the heart of the Night Fury, the Dragon Hand had previously claimed the unholy creature as his prey, but I plan to beat him to it. I know my chances are slim, near impossible, but none the less I strive to reach my goal.

A loud cry of battle followed by a beastly screech caught my attention. I ran over to the wooden door, and was met by the sight of a Monstrous Nightmare chasing a flock of sheep across the field. The fiery reptile must have sensed my eyes on it as it turned to look straight at me. I saw the plume of fire erupting from its snout, and instinctively slamming the door shut, pressing my body against it to keep the force from the blast from opening the door and burning my refuge. I could feel the heat almost scolding my back as the fires and licked at the wooden door. When the torrent had stopped and the force I was pushing against ceased I let a small smile grace my lips.

"Dragons," I exclaimed, this was it my chance to prove to the tribe, that I had a place amongst them.

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**Another chapter out on display, and were finally up to date. I was planning on extending the prologue to introduce Balder properly, but I felt that he didn't really need it. Show your love and leave a review, thank you. _Blue_**


	5. My Place Amongst Them (Astrid)

**Once again a different point of view, but not split POV this time it's all the way through.**

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I was sat in the great hall, mind completely blank, not paying any attention to anything, just staring off into nothingness. I wasn't zoned out of the world, just not paying attention to it. There was really nothing for me to pay attention to. There were no fights to watch, no speeches from the Chief, and definitely no dragons to deal with, at least not right now. Until a few years ago, I would always be vigilant, watching holes in the walls and doors for Terrible Terrors. Terrible Terrors were very small dragons, but nonetheless dangerous, especially in packs. I had made it my unspoken duty to deal with any of the reptilian pests if they ever showed up in a food barrel, or someone's tankard. But now that Balder had made his living by acting as the hall keeper, Terrors are dealt with before I can get myself battle ready. That is a lot of things about Balder that make me suspicious. I'm not sure why, but whenever I catch a glimpse of him; he always seems to look at the same exact moment and gives me a knowing smile, like he knows something. He clearly doesn't hide it either but even if he does know 'something' about me, I just brush off the weird looks, it's not like he knows something important.

Though it slightly annoys me that the lanky viking has taken my Terror tasks as his own, I don't complain. Terrors are too small a dragon to be proud of killing. Which is why I can barely wait for dragon killing tomorrow, my feet are tapping away with impatience, just wanting the day to end now. I know what most might think at first glance, there was no way that I could survive dragon killing, never mind be the top student. Well those who think that are incompetent, I can take care myself better than any of the other teens.

Snotlout is, admittedly, muscular and has plenty of potential. But despite his strength, he puts absolutely nothing behind it, except brainless arrogance and extremely annoying flirtations, all of which are directed to me. Though I suppose the flirting is a symptom of his arrogance, so of many other things. Such as his 'battle prowess', his 'bravery', his 'dragon killing skills', and his 'right' to the chiefdom. What he doesn't realise is that he is actual at a fairly low score in all of those categories.

Fishlegs is also buff, albeit more mass than muscle, but still incredible strong. But he is a coward, which I can slightly understand. The large viking just can't wrap his head around fighting techniques. Don't be fooled, he understands and puts his best into getting it right. He just always ends up making a mistake, in his swing, recovery, or stance, and just can't seem to get a perfect hit. Though he is a poor fighter, he has earned his place as an intellectual. He knows practically everything about dragons, history, and law. He would make a great advisor for a General, or even a chief.

The twins are probably the most competent in battle, aside from me. Then again they have had more battle experience, considering they beat on each other every time they have the opportunity and reason. Though the reasoning is mainly petty and stupid, much like the two themselves. Yes, they have incredible understanding of all combat aspects, but they other than that you wouldn't even know if they had functioning brains, or if they even had brains at all.

I was the only one who has all of their best qualities, if only slightly less than equal. I was strong, smart and incredibly co-ordinated, even most adults feared to upset me. And that was what made my dad proud; it made the whole village proud. I was the most promising viking on Berk, the others followed close behind, and were certain to earn a place somewhere on the island. All of them, except one. He was sat at in the very corner of the room, where no one would attract attention to him and he would gain any, with the exception of Balder who was now idly chatting with tiny boy.

Hiccup, really lived up to his name. He screwed up in everything he did, from carpentry, to farming, but most of dragon killing, and that happens to be the one he is most persistent to be involved in. He doesn't seem to realise that by running out into the open, he has caused equal damage to the village as the dragon, if not a slight less. It annoys me that he can't seem to realise that is simply not cut out for dragons, but it infuriates me when I hear him talking about the Night Fury. The Night Fury, the Unholy Offspring of Lightning and Death itself, has never been seen by anyone, let alone hunted and killed. It can cause havoc upon us, destroying all of our defences with its demonic fire without giving us a glimpse of its form. And Hiccup thinks he can just somehow, catch it, kill it, and present its head to the town, just like that. Though I don't understand his logic, I can understand his drive. He is weak and scrawny, making it hard to live up to the expectations of the village. As the heir to Berk's chiefdom, he needs to prove himself a viking, which is unachievable. Unless he can kill a dragon, and due to his weak appearance and reputation, a Night Fury is the best target.

"What are you staring at Astrid?" Ruffnut chimed giving me her casual grin, which looked more creepy than casual. I glared at her for interrupting my thoughts and absentmindedly chewed on my honeyed bread roll.

"Nothing important," I responded coldly, silently telling I'm not in a talkative mood. Everyone seemed to get the gist, as they immediately turned to talk amongst themselves. Suddenly a loud clatter was heard as a girl, around six years old, dropped a large stack of cutlery on the floor after being pushed by other kids around the same age. I considered intervening but I was beaten to it by Gobber. The large man began chastising the tykes, who had the sense to keep quiet and look shamefully at the floor.

A sigh from Ruffnut caught my attention. Considering peaceful exhales aren't something to expect from the chaotic twin, I turned to give her an inquisitive look. Meeting my gaze she exclaimed solemnly "I remember when that was us," Her brother, who was looking at the same event, sighed in agreement, "Pushing around Hiccup, getting in trouble for it, yak tipping, chicken robbing, sheep tossing," he listed, counting each one on his fingers. "You still do that now," I interrupted Tuffnut, giving both of them a deadpan look. Tuffnut scowled at me and Ruff just sneered "Yeah well what did do that was so great when you were a kid?"

I opened my mouth to retort with my various childhood memories, but no words left my lips. I found myself asking the same question. What did I do when I was young? The more I thought about it, the more my mind blanked out and I could barely see straight in front of me. There was a dark blur in front of me, blocking out everything in sight. A whining ring in my ears and the sounds around me became dull echoes in the back of my mind. A strange grey smoke gathered in my mind, the waving wisps creating faded images. It terrified me, the white noise, the black screen, and the grey fog that filtered into my head.

It all came to an incredible halt when I felt something heavy on my shoulders. I grunted at the force of which the weight was planted on me and turned to see the cause. I was met by the sight of Snotlout's arm resting behind my neck, a sight I see often, far too often. "She was busy being the damn best female viking this island has ever seen," He stated. There were two things that aggravated me about his actions. One – He touched me, something I have told him not to do, ever. Two – Despite his attempts to defend my honour and 'woo' me, his arrogance has not only annoyed me, it has also come out as a sexist remark that has insulted me. I glared directly at him as he turned to look right at me. Which brings me to number three – He just ignores how pissed I am at him and proceeds to continue his hopeless flirtations. Knowing the words that are about to follow his sentence, I begin my usual technique. I breath slowly and calmly caging in all my anger into the back of my mind, and wait for the next words to leave his vile mouth.

"Isn't that right, babe?" At the very last word I exhaled, releasing all of my caged in aggression. My right arm shot up to his wrist, which was draped over my shoulder, and lifted the heavy arm off of my neck. I then twisted, slowly and painfully, Snotlout petty squeaks of pain making a beautiful tune, like music to my ears.

Movement caught my attention from the end of the table. Hiccup stood there, a large basket of herbs in his hand; he had stopped on his way out to watch us. I couldn't tell what was going through his head, but I couldn't care less. What Hiccup does is none of my business. Hiccup seemed to realise he was staring at us, shook his head, and continued on his way out of the hall. Ruff must have seen me looking, because she called out to Hiccup up. I decided to just block out the conversation and just look at Hiccup.

I could see the hurt in his eyes, despite his sarcastic retorts and snarky eye rolls, the hurt was always in his eyes. It sent a weird churn in my stomach, but I ignored it and kept a blank expression on my face. As he left, Snotlout rose to follow and undoubtedly torment, and possibly injure, the scrawny boy. I grabbed the large viking's arm and gave him a warning glare to leave it be. Snotlout then questioned.

"Why do you care what happens to him?" I wasn't surprised by his question, I expected it. But I didn't expect to find myself without answer again. It then all came back, the black shades, the white screeching, the grey smog, but this time a whisper played in the back of my mind. "I don't expect you to be the same…" then everything cleared back up, I was back in the hall. Snotlout had removed his arm from my grasp and was now looking at everyone leaving the – wait, what?

For some reason all of the adults were charging out of the hall, weapons in hand, battle cries chorusing through the air. It didn't take me long for my wits to come back to me, and I knew exactly what was going on. "Dragons," I called out and began giving everyone their orders. "Fishlegs, Snoutlout, get the water cart. Ruff, Tuff, gather the buckets. All of you, meet me outside the forge," Without another word, the four of them rushed from the hall, with me right behind them. Upon exiting the large building, I was met with the sight of fire, warriors, and more importantly my enemy. It was time for me to use my place amongst the tribe.

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**Wait a minute...I'M BACK. OORAH! Bout time, huh? So I have three chapters out here for you, please enjoy. And don't worry BoD chapters should be up soon too.**


	6. Aren't I The Same? (Astrid)

"Stop," Stoick roared at the small rambling form of his son. "Just, stop," his breathed on each word, in an attempt to calm himself, but it had very little effect that was clear to everyone in the centre of the village. Well, what was left of it. The dragons had once again successfully raided the village, again. They had taken and destroyed nearly everything we had. A large amount of our dwindling fish supply, several yaks, and an entire flock of sheep had been stolen in one night. And the small auburn haired boy had been no help by allowing a capture group of dragons to escape.

"Every time you step outside, disaster falls. Can you not see that I have bigger problems? Winter is almost here, and I have an entire village to feed," I was sat by the path to the chief's house, the others standing around me as we watched Stoick chastise his son. Snotlout was looking incredibly smug about the events before him, Tuff had a crooked smile, and Ruff looked like she was trying to stop a cackle. Fishlegs had a surprisingly unreadable look on his face, and I-. I actually wasn't sure what expression I held, it felt like a frown but it seemed half hearted and the glare that commonly accompanied seemed strangely tired.

"Well between you and me, the village could do with a little less feeding, don't you think?" I cringed at Hiccup's retort. When you're speaking to a chief, the idea is to not make a joking matter of the situation. I heard Ruffnut chuckle slightly at the scrawny teen's remark, if only slightly. I looked amongst the crowd of sneering vikings, finding Gobber and Dragon Hand. The large bearded man was leaning against his axed appendage, shaking his head at Hiccup. Despite this however a small smile could be seen on his face, if only briefly, showing that Gobber found the boy's comment amusing.

The Dragon Hand, now in his younger stages of adulthood, made no movement, his arms remained crossed and his stance steady and slightly tensed. His face revealed no reaction, mainly as his hood shadowed his features giving off no response to Hiccup's childish retort. The Dragon Hand had, once again proven a remarkable asset to Berk, always appearing when a raid became somewhat difficult for the chief to manage alone. With his dragon killing touch, he has made up for a fair portion of Hiccup's mistakes. One of the strange things about Dragon Hand was that he seemed to encourage Hiccup in his attempts to capture and kill the reptilian demons, like he wanted him to constantly screw up the raids. I dismissed these thoughts as the chief continued to berate his only son.

"This isn't a joke, Hiccup," the red bearded giant exasperated, he let out a long tired sigh "Why can't you follow the simplest orders?" he asked the nervous teen in front of him. Though it sounded rhetorical, Hiccup responded anyway. "I can't stop myself," he insisted "I see a dragon and I have to just kill it," he attempted to support his point with hand gestures, but even I struggled to follow what he was attempting to do to the imaginary dragon in front of him. "It's who I am, Dad," he stated, though he spoke certain of himself, the sighs, groans and murmurs of the surrounding crowd proved his statement more than wrong.

"You are many things, Hiccup. But a dragon killer is not one of them," Stoick responded, his hand on his temple. He yelled for Gobber to escort Hiccup home, as he passed us Tuffnut and Snotlout began tormenting. Ruffnut probably would have joined in, if she wasn't suffocating on her own laughter. I once attempted another glare, and it once again came out sad and pitying. Why would I pity Hiccup? Vikings don't take pity on anyone, especially not 'burdens'. I suppose I could understand my pity. Hiccup was only trying to prove himself, to become an actual viking. But still he needs to train and be patient for training if he even wants a chance to catch and kill a dragon.

As Hiccup left I decided to leave the scene and get some breakfast, Snotlout and the others followed, with the black haired nitwit once again trying to flirt with me. We all walked sluggishly down the dirt paths. The consistency and length of nightly raids, was starting to take its effects on all of us, even Stoick had large grey bangs hanging under his eyes. The only thing keeping the vikings awake during day was vigilance and adrenaline. Sleep has almost become a luxury we only gain every so often.

"Fire Team," called a husky voice, we all turned to face Dragon Hand as he walked towards us. Despite being foreign to the island and giving us no information on himself, over than name and purpose, Dragon Hand has made himself highly respected amongst the people of Berk. He would often come to my team to discuss our performance on the battlefield. He seems to take a great interest I our group, and Hiccup. But what attracts the dragon hunter's attention leaves me bewildered.

"You have shown great organisation and co-ordination tonight. With only a few delays in effort," he announced, glancing slightly at the twins who were, not so discreetly, nudging each other. "Astrid, you have once again, proven your worth. I'm starting to feel offended that have not chosen to become a dragon hunter,"

"It is not that I don't respect the work dragon hunters, sir. I just feel that my loyalties lie here. Berk needs shield maidens and that is what I intend to be," I responded respectfully. Dragon Hand nodded his slowly "Loyal to your home and tribe, a respectable viking choice," he glanced over the entire group before speaking again. "As much as I trust you to be combat worthy, you are still deprived of sleep, I suggest you return to your homes and lie in,"

We nodded as we parted ways. Dragon Hand rushed into the forest near the great hall, jumping into the brush and out of sight. Like many times before, I felt the slight urge to follow him and track down where he camps. Other vikings have had the same idea, all eager to know the identity of the man under the white hood. None had succeeded in finding his camp; it was like he was a phantom that only came when the dragons did. Some even believed that's what he was.

I turned and left, knowing full well that I didn't have a chance of finding his roost. Besides, my lack of sleep was starting to take effect on me. Dragon Hand might have not anything, but I knew that my leadership skills weren't close to high standard last night. Taking the hunter's advice, I wondered home to catch some rest.

For some reason on the way there, thoughts of Hiccup intruded my mind. This had begun happening ever since Snotlout had asked me that question last night. Why did I defend Hiccup? I didn't understand it; normally I wouldn't care what happens to Hiccup. His problems aren't mine, unless they concern me or another Hofferson. And those words: "I don't expect you to be same," They were so familiar, yet unfamiliar. Normally I would dismiss things I didn't understand, but for some reason, I just couldn't let this go. It nagged at my mind, a puzzle demanding to be solved. Where had I heard those words before? What did they mean? It was stated as if I had changed in some way. But I was the same as I had been since a child.

Or was I? As far as I could tell, I had no memories of when I was a girl. I just assumed that I was practically born training to kill dragons. I couldn't imagine or remember doing anything, other than training with my dad and hanging around the other teens of Berk. But I strangely felt like I was forgetting something, something important.

I opened my door to be greeted by the smell of burnt wood. I looked up from my feet and saw a large hole in the corner of the far wall. It still concerns me, how easily the things and people I care about can be hurt or damaged. I looked slightly to the left and was greeted by the sight of a large man, holding a small hammer. He was fairly small, in comparison to vikings like Stoick and Spitelout, but still large enough to tower me. His yellow beard flowed neatly down to his chest with a single braid on the end. His cream leather shirt was adorned with dark brown harness that held a hidden dagger under its silver centrepiece.

Gunnar Hofferson, my father. He had taught me everything I knew; he would always praise me for being praised, and reward me for being rewarded. He was probably the greatest father anyone could ask for. He was also one the elite vikings of Berk, alongside my mother. Everyone respected and held their name in high standing, a name that I would soon inherit. It still shocked me sometimes when I remembered that I would soon be the face of the Hofferson line.

"Ah, Astrid," my father called, placing his hammer onto the table of the other side of room. "How did you do last night?" he asked, his smile unhidden. He always liked to ask how well I did during my fire patrol, even though he knew full well how I did. I mean he was out their fighting off dragons every night, so he obviously sees what kind of a job I do.

"Slower than usual, my stamina was terrible today," I stated disappointedly "Dragon Hand says I should sleep to regain my energy," I noticed my father scowl slightly at the mention of the mysterious dragon hunter. I knew he didn't particularly like him, and I could understand why. A strange faceless man appears on the island, with no evidence of how he arrived, and begins killing dragon with a simple touch on the demon's scales. I won't lie, his refusal to give any information about himself or his knowledge irked me and my father to no end. But the chief said to respect it, so we did.

"Well," my father breathed "Up you go then. Stoick has called a meeting, so I'll be out. I'll tell you if there is anything worth mentioning," I nodded and proceeded to climb the stairs to my room. The relationship between my father and I was one I wouldn't trade for another, not even to have Stoick as my father. Gunnar Hofferson was understanding, encouraging, and the best combat mentor I could think of.

As I entered my room and sat on my bed to pull off my boots, I found myself thinking about Hiccup and my forgotten childhood again. Why did those two connect? I never spent any time with the chief's son, I didn't even so much as speak to him. Did I? I clutched at my head and let out an infuriated yell. Why couldn't I remember? Why has it only now occurred to me that I don't remember anything?

The eyes and ears went numb again and I heard the words whisper a second time. "I don't expect you to be the same," they called silently. I was considering banging my head against a wall, which would normally be the twin's idea, when I suddenly had an idea. If I didn't know, there must be someone who did. I just have to ask them and I can get my answers and then leave the matter. It's not like my past is important enough to change my life, just important enough to irritate me.

As I lay on my bed, I racked my brain for people to ask. The other teens clearly didn't know, and I didn't want to ask my parents. Even though, they were the ones mostly likely to know, I felt as though I should avoid bringing up the subject around them. My next best bet was Hiccup, but I was not about to near him, let alone ask him. I didn't want anything to do with the reckless heir, but who else could I ask?

Then it hit me, Balder. The bartender had been Hiccup's friend since he was adopted by the island. The chances of him knowing what Hiccup knew were incredibly high. As sleep came over me, I ordered myself to interrogate Balder Blesi when I could. I was going to get to the bottom of this.

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**I know that the whole 'black void, grey fog, white sound' thing is pretty weird and out of genre. But I can't word Astrid's conflicted memory in any other way. Forgivles? :(**


	7. Downed Dragon (Hiccup)

**This is it, the start of the show. I've gotten through the stuff I half-wanted/half-not wanted (100% needed) to go through, and I am now PUMPED about the rest of this story. Here it is guys, hope you enjoy.**

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It had to be here, it just had to be. I know I had said it during previous raids, and I know that each time Dad sent out a search party, I was proven wrong. But this time I was sure, certain, positive that I had hit the Night Fury. I heard the snap of the bolas tightening around its frame. I heard its pained scream as I watched it plummet into the treeline. What other evidence did I need to know that I hit it? Well, a body would be a good start.

I was walking through the rough forest terrain, striding up sloped dirt and hurdling over large tree roots. My notebook rested in my right palm, three fingers keeping my page in place, as the pencil in my right hand traced over the map of Berk I had drawn. I had made a jotting of how I shot down the Night Fury. I had marked the trajectory of my shot with an arrow that went straight up to the marked point, which was where the dragon got hit. I had then made a map of the area it must have crashed in, based on the trajectory of the bola and the dragon's flight pattern.

So far I had had no luck whatsoever, no signs of a crash, no signs of a bola, and more importantly, no signs of a monstrous, evil, reptilian demon. I had searched nearly the entire north side of Raven's Point, all the while telling myself that the Night Fury had to be around here somewhere. I sighed as I crossed off another part of the forest, designating it Night Fury-less. I walked along the dirt mounds to the next 'yet to be marked' area that the legendary dragon could be.

I was annoyed, and not just at the fact that I hadn't found the dragon yet. I was angry that no one believed me, not even my dad, or Gobber, when I told them I had shot down the Night Fury. Though I could understand why they didn't. I mean, come on. A fishbone viking? Taking down the most notorious and powerful dragon that struck fear into the heart of even the Berserker Armada? Even I wouldn't believe it, even if someone told me I accomplished such a feat. Plus this wasn't the first time I had claimed to have captured the Night Fury, and after hearing me declare it time and time again, only to be wrong. Let's say I'm not surprised that they gave up so quickly.

But that didn't mean I wasn't angry with how fast they dismissed me. I knew I had hit the Night Fury this time; there was no mistaking it this time. I had reached the spot that my map had shown, I ran my pencil over the calculations to make sure I was correct before looking up to what I hoped would the dragon corpse lay on the dirt, only to find nothing but more foliage. Sighing, I added mark number 26 to the book, before venting out my anger by scribbling all over the page until the charcoal went blunt. Not a smart move considering I had just ruined my markings, meaning I would have to search the entire forest all over again.

I let out a tired breath as I thrust my pencil into my book, snapped it shut and placed it into my fur pocket. "The gods hate me," I moaned as I dragged my body further into the forest. "Some people lose their knife, or a mug. But not me, I manage to lose an entire dragon," I yelled up to the sky, practically daring the gods to make the situation even more humiliating for me. In my frustration, I smacked a low hanging branch out of my path, only for it to spring back and it me dead in the eye.

I looked at the tree, half expecting to see an elusive image of Loki laughing at me. What I didn't expect to see was that the thin brown trunk had been cut down. No, not cut down, the stump was jagged and ripped; something had toppled the tree down. Something with a lot of momentum, something like a falling dragon. As if to prove my theory further, a long trail of overturned dirt ran along the ground near the tree, indicating that something had skidded along the ground and over the small rise where the trail ended.

My mind was jumping around in my skull screaming in my head that I had found my quarry. But I didn't want to get my hopes up just yet. I wanted to see the Night Fury before I confirm my success. Sliding down the loose dirt of the drag trail, I followed towards the incline that masked the view of what was beyond. I hopped over a tree route, turning back to try and recreate in my head the crashing of the dragon. I wanted to be absolutely certain that this was a possible crash site, and that I wasn't just grasping at straws.

All doubt left my mind when I pawed up the incline, peered over the grass to see a large lump of blackness in the centre of my vision. I quickly ducked down, hoping that the dragon hadn't seen me. I was only after two heavy breaths did I start chastising myself. Why should I be afraid? The dragon is trapped inside of a bola net with no way of escaping. And what was to say it was even alive? What could possibly survive a battering crash through a heavy treeline? Then again I knew nothing of the Night Fury, no one did. For all we know, it could probably crash through a mountain and only get a slight headache. It probably escapes from the greatest of dragon traps every other Thorsday.

Slowly I peeked up from my cover and looked in awe at the beast before me. I could clearly see the details of its body, but its black body and large wings immediately identified the creature as a dragon. Its exposed body also gave a clear view of the secure ropes that wrapped tightly around the giant creatures body. It was still stuck in the bolas. Gasping at the sight before me I quickly reached for my dagger, almost dropping it in my fear and excitement. As I tried to control my breathing, I stumbled down the small incline and ducked behind a rock between me and the black unmoving mess. Tentatively I rounded the corner and inspected the sight before me.

The Night Fury was a lot smaller than I expected, then I'm not sure how big I expected it to be. Its body was covered in night-black scales, some of which seem to shine as they reflected the sunlight that was dimmed by the treeline. Its large paws were round and looked kind of like a stump, they were also adorned with rather dull looking claws, but I didn't want to underestimate the shredding capabilities of the beast's talons. Its wings were incredibly bat-like and their gigantic size seemed to compensate for the dragon's small body. Its head was crowned with a large number of those reflective scales and it seemed to have three flaps that streaked out from its head and along its neck.

It was at this moment that everything had clicked in my head. A bola had shot down a Night Fury, my bola had shot down a Night Fury. I had shot down a Night Fury. "Oh wow," were the first words to leave my mouth before everything came pouring out. "I did it. Oh, I did it, this fixes everything, yes," in my excitement, I placed my foot on the dragon's carcass and struck warrior-like pose. I called out to the sky "I have brought down this mighty beast,"

I had only just finished my victory when an irritated growl erupted underneath me and I was pushed away, my feet tripping over themselves until I was up against the rock I was previously hid behind. I inched back over to the dragon which was now breathing rather heavily, so much for being dead. As I glanced over it body, the dragon's eyes slowly opened, focusing on me with narrow black slits in its pale green eyes. I bit my lip, silently thanking the gods for my luck. If the dragon was able to get out of this situation, I would be dead. This meant the dragon was helpless and at my mercy.

I looked away from its eyes and pointed my gaze to its exposed underbelly. It was a commonly known fact that dragon hides were not very strong on the underside. All I had to do was cut open its chest, slash it a few times till it dies, and then show the corpse to my dad. A small wailing noise directed my attention back to the dragon's head. Its eyes remained on me staring with an intimidating glare. It was trying to scare me; it had run out of option and had fallen to the attempt of scaring me out of my chance to kill it, and the worst part was that it was kind of working. No, I couldn't think like that, the dragon was powerless in this state. I couldn't let it get into my head. I scowled at the black demon, before looking back to its belly.

"I'm going to kill you, dragon," I declared, moving the blade to face down to the beast's skin "I going to cut out your heart and take it to my father," My heart seemed to twist at the thought of doing that to the dragon before me, but this is what I had to do, what we had to do. As vikings, we have to protect our own. No matter how brutal and torturous we were to our enemy, we acted this way for the ones we care about. "I'm a viking," I whispered to reassure myself, I glared down at the dragon again and yelled "I am a viking," hoping to scare it enough to stop that fear inducing stare.

I closed my eyes and raised the dagger high, this was it. I was going to kill the world's most feared dragon. I don't know why, I don't know what brought me to do it. But I looked at the dragon's eyes once more. Maybe I wanted to see its eyes while they still had life, maybe I want to see if it had stopped its staring, but in that moment everything changed. I saw something else in the dragon's stare that was not intimidation. It seemed impatient, it wanted die. But how does that make sense, why would it want its life extinguished? It was like it was anxious for my blade to dig into its scales and end it.

That's when it hit me, in full force. If it was a solid object it would send me catapulting off the island. I was anxious. It was anxious for me to end the torturous slow pace of its execution. It was anxious that its life rested in the hands of an enemy who would definitely kill him. It was anxious, it was afraid. The Night Fury, the most powerful, chaotic, and demonic of all the dragons, was afraid of a small boy with a tiny dagger.

I tried to ignore this, and lifted that dagger up high again. My eyes were screwed closed so that I wouldn't have to see those fearful eyes again. But those few seconds of fear, sent my mind spinning. The dragon was afraid of me; it was frightened by a fishbone and a knife. I couldn't help but put myself in his place. I would be frightened, no terrified, if I was in front of a knife wielding boy, frozen in place, unable to even wriggle away.

My raised hands went limp over my head. My hands dragged down my face as I came to realise the shocking truth. I couldn't do it; I couldn't kill the black dragon before me. It was scared, defenceless, and completely my mercy and I didn't have the strength of heart to kill it. As I looked at my dagger and the creature before me I felt so guilty for scaring the giant beast.

"I did this," I said as I turned to leave, mentally kicking at myself for being so stupid. What made me think I could do this? How could I be a killer, ever? I suddenly stopped and turned back looking at the ebony reptile that still lay trapped in its binds. Binds that I had put it in. I knew what I was going to end up doing, I also knew it was suicide, one way another. But I knew that I was going to do it anyway.

Knelt down at the dragon's side and began cutting the ropes. 'What are you doing?' my mind screamed at me, as my hands sawed through the first rope.

_Thwak_

Why was I doing this? As soon as it is able to break free, the Night Fury will pounce on me, swallow me and one bite. That would be it, no more Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III.

_Thwak_

Maybe that was why I was doing this. Maybe I had subconsciously decided I had had enough with the constant put down and rejection and opted to go out the stylish way currently available. At least I would be able to tell the other vikings of Valhalla that I had died to the claws of the Offspring of Lightning and Death.

_Thwak_

RAAAAAAAAAH

As soon as the third rope had fallen, the Night Fury wheeled round and pinned me to the ground. All the blood in my body seemed to flow to my head and my breathing became panicked and irregular. I looked up to the now ferocious monster that towered over me. Its green eyes showed a clear display of how angry it was. Then again if someone had scared me like that, I would be pretty mad too. Only I would be so open about it. This was my end that much was clear. The Night Fury had opened it maw, stood taller, and sucked in a large amount of air. I screwed my eyes tight as I waited for the supersonic blast to finish me.

I got blasted alright, but not in the way I expected. Instead of being blasted by explosive fire, I was blasted with a loud roar that made my eyes ring. Hot air and a few strands of saliva flew into my face for a solid two seconds before the dragon leered at me and took off into the deeper parts of the forest. I watched my ex-quarry as it ran away from me. I don't why, I don't know what brought the Night Fury to do it, but it spared me. Maybe it thought I wasn't worth it, maybe it thought there were more important matter than killing a weakling like me. Or maybe, it was still afraid.

I would have liked to think about the events of the past few minutes a little more, but I passed out before I had a chance. But one thought went through my mind as I left the world of consciousness, something I need to tell my dad: I can't kill dragons.

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**Soooooooo... What do ya think, eh? Not too shabby for a rookie. Anyway I can't WAIT to get started on the rest of this, but college calls, ARGH! Anyway, I will spend the rest of my free time, writing BoD chapters, but will start the next chapter of Dragon Hand on Saturday, see you peeps later.**

**BOOP**


	8. Axe to Grind (Astrid)

I woke the next morning fully refreshed, and ready to get my answers. I strapped on my armour, grabbed my axe and made my way downstairs, sharpening my blade with a whetstone as I went. As I passed the side table near the front door of my house, I placed the whetstone on its wooden surface and placed my axe on my belt. I pushed open the door to view my village, most of the damage from last night's raid had been cleared and only a few roofs and walls were being repaired. It often amazes me the amount of work our village can get done when we all band together.

I pushed these thoughts aside as I stepped out of the door frame and walked down the paths to the great hall. My plan for the day went like this: Interrogate Balder, get axe sharpened, train if time allowed, dragon training, training, meet with classmates in hall, free time, bed. I really wanted time to skip straight to dragon training. My thirst to practice what I learned on a real dragon had me excited and impatient. But there were things that needed to be done before that, very important things that required my attention.

I stopped at the bottom of the great hall's steps and turned to look out to the sea. Several longboats sailed away from the large rocky island and were headed west. Headed for Helheim's Gate. That mist covered terrain had been the home of dragon kind for centuries, its where all the raiding dragons returned to with their stolen good. Stoick had opted that the best solution was to take the dragons head on; we wouldn't survive if we just defended our home and didn't rush theirs. My dad had gone that long boat with Stoick and they were expected to back in-. Well, they weren't actually expected to return, most didn't, but it's nice to have faith that they will.

I lifted myself up the steps to the great hall in a jogging pace, waving to Mrs. Larson as she passed. I made a mental list of all the things I need to question Balder about: What did those words mean? What was I like when I was young? What was Hiccup like when he was yo-? I stopped myself there when I noticed how that last question might come across. I decided to ignore it, if Balder made any sort of suggestion I'd punch him. It was strange though, despite the fact that I never think of Hiccup in any way, I could get a very weird picture of him and me spend time with each other. I shook that image out of my head, it was stupid. I'm going to be a shield maiden, not some frilly house wife. Especially not with Hiccup.

I pushed open the doors to the large cavern and scanned for Balder. He wasn't there, I walked over to the bar, expecting him to raise his head and hold out one of the tankard from the shelves under the counter. However as I got closer I noticed small note on a triangular stand: "Gone out harvesting/hunting, will return around midday," I let out a heavy breath, slightly irritated that I wouldn't be able to question Balder till I had my free time. I considered skipping out on some of my training after class to interrogate him, but decided against it. The matter wasn't important enough for me to change my schedule. I would just have to question the bartender tomorrow.

I moved down the steps, inspecting my axe to see if I could make out any flaws that Gobber needed to correct. As I neared the forge I heard Gobber's loud booming accent and a smaller nasally voice, easily identifiable as Hiccup's. As I rounded the corner I heard Hiccup's half sentence "-if she was on fire and I had the last bucket of water in town," I called to them both, causing two separate reactions. Hiccup seemed to become extremely flustered and his cheeks reddened, a weird looking forced smile took hold of his face. Gobber however seemed to grin very sincerely and with mild mischief shining in his metal tooth.

"Can I get this sharpened?" I said hoping to break either of them from their stupors. Hiccup was the first to speak but it was very, Hiccup-y. "Astrid, hi Astrid, hello there, welcome, what can I do for-," his stuttering was starting to irritate me, so I threw my axe at a table to silence the lanky boy. Gobber seemed to wake up from his own statue like position when the loud thunk of metal sinking into wood spooked him. He backed up a bit and pushed Hiccup in my direction.

"My, uh, manly apprentice will see to all of your needs," he stated proudly, I raised my brow slightly as he continued back away to the rear entrance of the forge. "I have to, get, some… I'm just gonna go," he stated, turning with a handful of nails that he picked up from one of the supply barrels, he strolled out humming some random tune. What the heck was going on here? At first everything seems normal, then I show up and both the smith and his student start acting weird. Well, weirder in Hiccup's case.

Said auburn haired boy chuckled nervously and look at me "Gobber," he said in a somewhat apologetic tone. I kept my face stern as I pulled my axe from table it was lodged into. As I turned, Hiccup had his hands out expectantly. Begrudgingly I dropped the axe harmlessly into his hold, the weight immediately had him hunched over with the strain of lifting it. "Okay," he said through his very forceful breathing, "razor sharp battle axe, coming right up," his steps were heavy and it was kind of funny to watch his efforts.

"Careful, I got that for my 10th birthday," I warned when the blade nearly toppled out of his grasp. I decided to busy myself while I waited for the skinny teen to sharpen my blade. Considering how little time it would take to finish that task, unless he screws up, I would have much time to do anything else. I moved to the racks that held up all the weapons that were waiting to be picked up by their owners. I took the lowest one and carefully moved it from the rack into my grip. I then began giving it some test swings as Hiccup spoke.

"So I saw you guys out on fire patrol, looked like a good time," he said in a more stable voice, apparently he'd gotten his head close enough to earth to speak intelligently. I responded indifferently.

"Yeah, didn't get burned though," he looked up from his task, quirking an eyebrow at my statement. I shrugged off his questioning look "It's only fun if you get a scar out of it," I explained. His face seemed to quirk his mouth into a forced smile.

"Yeah no kidding, right?" he replied, false bravado clear in is voice. I rolled my eyes; he was just like Snotlout, just trying to be macho in order to get me to like him.

It was very rude, offensive, and. Weird, coming from Hiccup. When his obnoxious cousin did it, he was boastful and putting himself in my face. With Hiccup, he was clearly uncomfortable with himself, and it made the bravado act a little more tolerable, and slightly entertaining. "I would have joined you, but I was busy downing a dragon," he said as he spun my axe to sharpen the other side. I rolled my eyes while I faced away from him.

"I know, a Night Fury, right?" I tried not to sound too annoyed, but hearing his public display twelve times and possibly more can really irritate you.

"No, unfortunately it wasn't," I turned surprised as he said that. I was half expecting him to say that it had got away, or was rescued by another dragon, or some other crazy excuse. "Uh, it was a, uh, Idunfright," he stated shakily "It just roared in my face, then flew off," I was skeptical; there was something off about his statement. He was clearly fearful about my reactions, it actually made me think he had killed the Night Fury and was trying to cover it up. I shook that idea from my head, which was ridiculous. If Hiccup had shot and killed the Night Fury, why would he try to cover up such a heroic act? I concluded that he was just making up an excuse that I hadn't thought about and left the matter completely, opting for a different topic.

"How long have you been working here?" I asked, taking a few more swings with the sword before replacing it on the rack and looking around the rest of the forge.

"Nine years," Hiccup said, I looked to him and I noticed a depressed look as he continued to sharpen my axe. I looked around the forge and noticed a small door round the back of one of the workbenches, my curiosity won out and I wondered over to the little door. "Uh, I wouldn't go in there," Hiccup stammered, making me more eager to see what was past the wooden panel.

I was welcomed by a large desk that took up most of the left wall and a clatter of papers making the wooden surface practically blanketed. The other half of the room had baskets of metal weapon and cannon parts, as well a few inventions that brought some 'hiccups' back to mind, causing me cringe slightly. I moved my eyes other the pictures that scattered themselves on the desk and even the floor around it. Each thin sheet had a charcoal etching of some nonsensical machine with various symbols and numbers that nearly made me dizzy trying to read them.

"What is all this?" I exasperated, it was like a giant unsolvable puzzle with no goal to it. I tried to make some plausible image out of the black lines and symbols but came up empty and bewildered.

"They're the blueprints to the Mangler, the bola cannon I used last night," Hiccup said as he hefted my now complete axe towards me. I didn't take it from his grasp just yet. I just continued to look at the drawing. I could see the catapult very clearly in the vellum, but the other marking threw me off.

"Care to explain the other marking?" He seemed very surprised by my interest and immediately started stammering and stumbling over his words.

"They're, uh, basically calculations and measurements I made based on bola throwing techniques, the, uh, the size of the invention, and the basic equations involved in, uh, catapult usage. I then found the most suitable method of efficiently firing the bola from the, uh, barrel, and what mechanisms will be needed to make the bola, uh, spin. It's a lot of, uh, weird and brainy stuff,"

I felt my lips tug upward slightly as Hiccup spoke and gestured with his hands to try and get his words across. I don't know why but I kind of liked this side of Hiccup, the side I'd never seen before. He stumbled over his feet, his words, and probably even his thoughts. He was clearly nervous while talking with me, unsure of himself and trying to make himself more relatable. It was rather funny and it made me want to spend a little more time with him.

"Astrid," someone called from outside. We each turned out the room and looked out of the large window to see the other teens standing outside with their weapons in their hands. Tuff spoke again as we came up to the front of the forge, "Come on, we doing some practice before dragon training starts," I put on a neutral face as take my axe from Hiccup's hands. I looked down at the blade, admiring the job Hiccup had done with it. He showed a great skill in smithing, it made me wonder why he insisted on killing a dragon. I was about to turn away from the lanky boy in front of me, but I suddenly had the strange urge to say something, anything, before I left.

Nothing very significant came to mind so I just settled with a simple sign of appreciation. "Thanks," I said give him a small smile before I turned to join the others outside. As we walked towards our sparring spot by the cliffs, Ruffnut slowed me and herself to talk out of the boys' earshot.

"What were you doing in the forge with Hiccup?" I simply shrugged in differently and increased my pace to catch up with the others.

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**FINALLY! This took me a while, but not as long as it normally does. One of the benefits of a router going randomly berserk over the weekend? It gives you a day or two to focus on your projects and work. Think I might start a new story after a while, not certain though.**


	9. The Only Way To Learn (Hiccup)

I was doomed, dead, extinct, and any other word that would describe that I was about to die. When I had returned from the woods after finding the Night Fury, I had hoped to sneak upstairs, slip into bed and forget about the whole incident. But as I have previously experienced, the gods love to torment me to know end. So they decided to tell my father: "Hey, your son has ruined nearly every dragon raid, and has failed time and time again to do anything useful. Why don't you put in dragon training the very day that he realises he can't kill dragons?"

Okay so Gobber wasn't technically a god, but he certainly decided to act as their messenger last night, because now my dad had pushed me into taking lessons in the 'art' of dragon killing. I was shuffling across the bridge to the kill ring, axe held precariously in my hands as I looked out to the open view of the sea. Out there, my father was facing creatures of great terror and he most likely wouldn't come back out successful. The nest could not be found, we have tried countless times and have never once achieved a way of navigating the maze of grey clouds and large sea stacks.

I continued to trudge up the path, the kill ring was now in view and I could see the other teens outside, all impatiently waiting to begin their first lesson. The twins were laughing at something Snotlout had said, with Fishlegs nervously laughing when the arrogant bully turned to face him. It didn't take a genius to work out that whatever Snotlout said, it was probably about me. As the four laughed, one only when threatened, I looked over to the unresponsive one, who leant against the exterior gate of the ring.

Astrid seemed to be completely out of tune with the world, just looking over her axe with her beautiful icy eyes. I was proud of the work I had done on that axe; it was one of the most treasured things that I had made. That was something many, everyone but Gobber, didn't know, I was the one to make Astrid's axe, I was the one who left it outside of the Hofferson's home, ready for the beautiful girl to whoop with joy upon seeing it the next morning. That day was one of the few times that we interacted before things went dark between us. She had passed by me at the well and gave me a hug, whispering a thank you before she ran off.

Ruffnut saw me coming, but instead of alerting the others she grinned evilly and whispered something in Astrid's ear. Astrid looked to me for a few seconds before she proceeded to glare at a cackling Ruffnut. I decided to ignore whatever comment had been made; it was probably about this morning when she was in the forge with me. I had really enjoyed those few minutes in that hot building, because Astrid had done things that I hadn't expected to see. She talked to me, she showed an interest in my inventions, and when she left she smiled at me.

Astrid smiled at me, I was in Valhalla when that happened and I just wished that my life could just consist of an endless loop of those few minutes. Unfortunately, reality kept that from coming true and left me with those tiny moments that still manage to drunken my heart with no effort. Astrid's gaze had long since returned to her axe, and Gobber had approached to ring, his lucky hook arm swinging to open the door to the kill ring. Realising that I was slightly behind, I jogged up to the entrance.

"Well no sense standing around here," Gobber stated, "Welcome to dragon training," he presented, lifting the down and ushering us into the large stone arena. I chuckled slightly as I walked into the circular battleground. If Gobber was teaching the classes then I was going to have a little more fun in these classes than I had expected. I had only seen a few fights in the arena, not many. But now that I was here, inside of the ring, my blood seemed to ice up and it sent shivers of fear down my spine. The layout was simple, stone walls, stone floor, large iron cages to hold the dragons, and a giant chained roof to keep the animals from escaping.

I was broken from my reverie when I heard Tuffnut speak, "I hope I get some serious burns," he declared, a twin ended spear held lazily at his side. His sister responded to her brother similarly, "I'm hoping for some mauling," she contemplating with her own weapon, a spear similar to her brothers, only this one had one hook on the end. "I'm thinking somewhere like my shoulder, or maybe my lower back,"

"I know what you mean," I found myself replying "Pain, love it," I was hoping that my sarcasm would get through to anyone but Gobber, but it seemed to have gone over their heads, they were too busy scowling or groaning to hear me. "Oh great, who let him in?" Tuffnut ranted, Fishlegs and Ruff looked shocked, Snotlout had a surprisingly unreadable expression, and Astrid looked kind of ticked. I ignored this as I hefted up my axe into a more battle-ready stance.

"Let's get started, the recruit who does best will get to kill their first dragon in front of the entire village," I shuddered at the statement, remembering my episode with the Night Fury. As if reading my mind, Snotlout called out, "Hiccup already killed a Night Fury, so does that disqualify him or…" The twins burst into fits of laughter as I hung my head. I wasn't embarrassed, I was ashamed. Because I should have killed that dragon, it was right where I wanted it to be. No, it was right where I needed it to be and I had let it loose.

"Actually, Snotlout it was an Idunfright," Astrid stated nonchalantly. All eyes were immediately on her, I think everyone was shocked that she had chosen to defend me, more than the fact of the actual defence. "He'd hit the dragon with a bola but it broke out and took off," she said crossing her arms, axe hugged between them and her chest. Snotlout seemed to grumble a little after having his joke shot down, and the Ruffnut seemed to be snickering slightly at the viking girl. I smiled a silent thanks to the axe maiden but she had already turned around to face a man in white leather, who had appeared from nowhere.

"Astrid is right, I found the crash site and the bola remains on my way here," Dragon Hand declared as he walked through the group towards me. He leaned forward so that he was at eye level with me; I swear I would have run out of the arena if I wasn't frozen with fright. I heard him chuckle slightly, as he patted my shoulder. "Impressive, Hiccup, though I wouldn't recommend trying to face a dragon without proper training," he said jovially, which was surprising to come from the usually monotone dragon hunter.

"May I ask what you're doing here, Dragon Hand?" Gobber questioned from behind the white clothed man. Dragon Hand continued to look at me, before turning to face Gobber. "I simply wish to watch this group's performance in the ring. There is something about this lot that… interests me," His final statement was followed by glances towards me and Astrid. I could understand why the dragon expert would be interested in Astrid; he always seemed to be taking note of her progress. However why he is was interested in me was rather strange, though I suppose it's only because of my successful 'Idunfright' downing.

Gobber soon decided that the lesson had been distracted enough, and all the teens line up in front of the doors to the dragon cages. "Behind these door are just a few of the many species you will learn to fight," he presented in loud booming voice and he proceeded to list each dragon as he passed its enclosure.

"The Deadly Nadder," sqwaks of excitement seemed to rattle out of the large door as it shook from the dragon's movements.

"Speed 8, Armour 16," Fishlegs whispered, loud enough only for me and Tuff to hear as we stood at either side of the large boy.

"The Hideous Zippleback," grumbling roars and wisps of green gas escaped the small gaps of the closed double doors.

"Plus 11 Stealth, times 2," Fishlegs listed, while it was admirable that the viking could retain this knowledge, the fact that he was rattling off these facts didn't make me feel much better.

"The Monstrous Nightmare," Flames licked the hinges of the door, and I was actually concerned they'd melt and release the demon hidden behind those large doors.

"Firepower 15," While I was grateful that Fishlegs' nerdiness calmed me down, his statistic rattling was really starting to annoy me, and Gobber seemed to frown a little as well, but proceeded anyway.

"The Terrible Terror," he smiled mischievously as he mentioned the dragon's name, scuttling and guttural chatter seemed to make the door shake so violently, you'd think an earthquake was going on in the large pen.

"Attack 8, Venom 12," Fishlegs practically screamed out in his excitement. I'm not going to lie his knowledge was kind of scaring me and definitely irritating the other teens beyond belief. Even Astrid's stoic face turned to scowl in the chubby boy's direction.

"Can you stop that?" Gobber scolded, clearly much angrier than the rest of us. Fishlegs jolted at the sudden chastising, squeezing his mouth as tightly shut as possible. Gobber rolled his eyes and moved to the final door, where Dragon Hand was standing. "And the Gronckle,"

"Jaw Strength 8," Fishlegs whispered to me, probably thinking that the knowledge would keep me safe, or even himself safe. As I was giving Fishlegs a confused stare, I noticed Dragon Hand preparing to pull down the lever.

I wasn't the only one to see this because Snotlout took steps towards our mentors. "Whoa, wait. Aren't you going to teach us first?" he whined, panic in his voice. It dawned on every at that instant that we were going to be flying blind. Fishlegs' knees were knocking against each other **(I REALLY wanted to say 'Fishleg's legs were shaking)**. The twins looked paralyzed with either excitement or fear, most likely the former. Even Astrid looked slightly phased by this sudden newsflash, but the only give away was that her eyes widened for about two seconds.

I simply rolled my eyes and responded to Snotlout's panic, "Gobber believes in learning on the job," I stated in deadpan, just to message to Gobber that I didn't like this. Everyone looked to me as if I had spoken for the first time in my life. Snotlout snarled, pointing at my mace at me before he threatened me. Though his mouth was silences when Dragon Hand's voice called out, "The only way to teach," he stated rather humorously, before slamming down the lever.

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**A little shorter than my other chapters but I felt this was a good stopping point. Next chap will be Astrid's P.O.V. so don't get confused. Also I may not be answered or uploading on the Book of Dragons for awhile. At least until I have but more onto this story. BUT that doesn't mean that you should stop sending in requests. So keep sending them in. Until the next chapter folks.**


	10. Dragon Training and Unwanted Images

**Another thousand years, another chapter. Geez, I need to get out. I have spent all day working on, well work and this project. I also have an audition in my theatre group that I need to prepare for****. But here it is Chapter 10, don't read it all in one place. Or do, whatever. See you my friends.**

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The stout dragon burst from its larger cage, charging straight for us. Our group immediately scattered, this meant that dragon would be able to annihilate us all within ten seconds of the lesson's beginning, though I bet the others ran randomly out of fear, rather than out of tactical advantage. As the rest panic and I bounce on the balls of my feet, Gobber and Dragon Hand stand by the Gronckle's door. Dragon Hand was leaning against the stone wall, a fist under his chin as he watched our progress, not a lot to watch.

Gobber however was stood up and yelling instructions. "Today is about survival," he declared as he paced in front of the open dragon pen. "If you get blasted, you're dead," I rolled as the large beast made a flying charge in my direction. The monster hit the wall hard, but didn't even stop to shake its head clear. Loose rocks fell from the dented wall, and the Gronckle immediately swallowed them up. From what I remember in the manual, Boulder Class Dragons like the Gronckle could regenerate their shot limit by eating large stones. This meant that my target had a full tank of explosive shots at its disposal.

"Quick what's the first thing you're going to need?" He questioned, causing the two least fight capable boys to stop in their tracks.

"A doctor?" Hiccup provided, very stupidly. I rolled my eyes at his idiocy, but I noticed Gobber chuckling while shaking his head. We were facing a deadly and sadistic beast, and our mentor was joking around with the village screw-up, completely unprofessional.

Fishlegs was the next to speak, "Plus 5 speed?" he offered weakly, clutching at his hammer's head like it was a dolly. While the answered at least sounded more sophisticated, it made absolutely no sense. If I learnt one thing when Fishlegs was rambling about dragon stats, is that even vikings couldn't increase their speed that drastically in seconds.

Feeling that the idiocy had gone on long enough, I recited the answer that my father had taught me. "A shield," I called out, noticing a small pile of thick wooden circles. Gobber gave out the command to grab the shields, and I immediately rushed for the pile. The Gronckle had turned for a second charge at me, as it dashed forward I dropped to slide along the floor, grasping a shield as I passed. Once the Gronckle had pulled out of its dive, I was already on my feet, shield and axe held firmly, and eyes staring down the great beast.

Hiccup was fumbling around trying to get shield into a proper hold, with one hand still clutching his axe. He was insane, it was clear that he wasn't cut out for the life of a warrior. How was he permitted into the ring? Then again he probably told Gobber he had permission, and with Stoick gone Gobber wouldn't be able to say otherwise. I scoffed to myself, slightly laughing under my tongue. Hiccup was always going behind his father's back, like the time he-. I stopped, everything temporarily blocked out from my mind. Like the time that he, what? What was I going to say? I nearly remembered, my heart felt weird, excited maybe, by this prospect. I tried to think more about what I said.

I nearly had a grip on, something, but my thoughts were interrupted by a loud explosion and synchronised yelps pf surprise. Infuriated that my concentration was broken, I looked to see the twin in a dazed state and a scattered number of charred and broken shields around them, one of which fell on Tuffnut's head. "Ruffnut, Tuffnut, you're out," Gobber called out bluntly, ignoring the twins as they dizzily got to their feet. I immediately remembered the situation I was in, my memories could wait. Right now, I had a dragon to beat.

"Those shields are good for another thing, noise. Make lots of it to throw off a dragon's aim," Gobber instructed, as Dragon Hand ushered the twin's to the side. The remaining students and I all began banging our respective weapons again the metal center of our shields. The Gronckle was dazed, shaking its head in an attempt to somehow stop the noise we were making. The noise was having a large effect, but it didn't take long for the demon to adjust.

We moved round the sides of the dragon, essentially surrounding the dragon. Gobber called out another question. "All dragons have a limited number of shots, how many does a Gronckle have?" I already knew the answer when Fishlegs beat me to the chase. "Six," he called out doing a victory dance to himself, completely forgetting about the dragon that had now spotted and fired on him. The fireball would have hit large boy, had Dragon Hand not thrown one of the broken shields to block the ball of explosive magma.

That was one shot used on Ruff and Tuff, and one used on Fishlegs. That meant the Gronckle only had four shots left.

"Fishlegs, out," Gobber called out, the nerdy boy nervously scooted towards the twins and our mentors. This left only me, Snotlout, and surprisingly Hiccup left. I was once again bouncing on my feet, watching the dragon fire another shot at a cowering Hiccup as he attempted to leave his cover.

Three shots remaining.

Hiccup's cowardice was embarrassing; he hid behind the wooden rack as the dragon tauntingly pushed him into the corner. Deciding that I was bored of watching it play with Hiccup, I performed a tiger roll to catch the dragon's attention. It worked instantly; the Gronckle turned to me and fired a lava shot. The ball was easily avoidable as it came slowly from the other end of the arena. I performed a somersault dive, slightly catching myself in the reverse tumble and stumbling. I cursed beneath my teeth, but managed to successfully turn out of the dive before the dragon could take advantage of my mistake.

"Snotlout, you're done," Gobber chimed. I turned back to where I had rolled to see the arrogant blob stand and stomp sulking over to the others. I hadn't even realised he was near me, I shook that thought from my head as recounted the dragon's shots. It had two left this meant that me and Hiccup were the last ones left. I had to stop to think about that. Thor's Hammer, Hiccup and I were the only ones left. All the others had failed due to incredible stupidity and yet Hiccup, the most foolish of us all, had somehow managed to come alongside as a last survivor.

"So I guess it's just you and me, huh?" said lanky boy stuttered from behind me. I didn't take my eyes off the Gronckle as it snarled menacingly at the two of us.

"Hiccup," Dragon Hand called, catching both of our attention. "Keep you guard up," he commanded calmly. Hiccup nodded and looked back to the dragon; I just stared questioningly at the hooded man. Why was he giving Hiccup pointers? Hiccup had been training; he shouldn't receive extra training and gain an advantage. Hiccup's suddenly went wide and he pushed me to the ground. I could feel the heat in my head, I snarled at the small boy when a sudden flash erupted in between us.

Shot number five.

We were both incredibly lucky. I had taken no damage due to being too far from the blast to take any real damage. Hiccup's shield had taken the brunt force of the explosion, so he ended up only being knocked to the floor. I would have shouted at him for making such a stupid move, I didn't need saving and he almost took a direct fireball. The anger dissipated before I let out a sound, because Hiccup was now being chased by the large reptile. "Hiccup," Gobber yelled out in terror, and someone else was too. A young feminine voice was also calling out the defenceless runt in distraught. It was only when my throat felt raw did I realise it was me, I was screaming out to the now cornered boy. The Gronckle wasted no time preparing its final shot to end the lanky teen's life.

Hiccup was going to die, that realization was powerful. The thought of Hiccup's death shouldn't have made my stomach churn, it shouldn't have made my heart beat faster, it shouldn't made my head spin, but the concept of Hiccup's demise did all of that and more. My entire organic twisted and knotted in ways that made me feel sick, the entire would seemed to spin and tilt in ways that didn't help, and my heart was practically kicking and screaming to break out of my rib cage.

Suddenly a blur of white rushed towards the brown scaled beast, only identifiable as Dragon Hand. He had a length of rope in his hands and was tying it into a noose. Once tied and secured the dragon hunter somersaulted over the Boulder Class' head letting the lasso noose fall around the dragon's neck. Once he had landed on the other side of the dragon, he jerked the rope causing the Gronckle's shot to miss Hiccup by a hair. I released a breath I didn't realise I was holding, he was alive, he didn't die.

"That's six shots," the hooded hunter growled at the Gronckle as it choked slightly on its leash. "You've had your fun, so get back in that cage," Dragon Hand forcefully pulled the creature into its enclosure and Gobber closed the door. Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the twins all stood around me, panting slightly. The twins were complaining about the lack of blood and scars, and Fishlegs was mumbling to himself, mostly likely Gronckle facts to calm himself down. Snotlout no doubt tried to hit on me, but his voice was hoarse from all the exercise. I smirked at that image, for all that bravado and muscle; he's pathetic when it comes to stamina.

"That concludes this lesson," Gobber declared as he stood above the still sitting Hiccup. "We will meet in the great hall at sun down to discuss your performance. So do what you normally do, think about how you did and remember," the blacksmith paused and looked down at the auburn haired boy "a dragon will always go for the kill," Gobber then picked Hiccup up and shooed us out of the ring. I looked over at Hiccup as the others distracted themselves. Hiccup had a thinking face, which was normally never a good face. However this one was different, this one seemed more questioning than calculating, like he was trying to answer an impossible enigma.

Dragon Hand watched us walk out of the stone complex, before he grabbed Hiccup by the shoulder. "Well done today, Hiccup," he said.

"Yeah, if by well-done you mean for losing my shield and running blindly into a corner," the lanky boy retorted with natural yet sad sarcasm.

"You joined this class to become a better fighter, and that's exactly what you're doing," Those words could another attack on my head, sirens blaring and vision misting over once again. The whisper however allowed a new sentence to echo in my mind.

"I expect you to be tougher, braver and that's what you're becoming," the voice spoke over the ear piercing sounds of the world outside. I shook my head and mulled over this new sentence. Someone expected me to become stronger in a time I can't remember, this meant that the first sentence made total sense. That was why – whoever it was – didn't expect me to be the same as I used to be. Question was – who did I used to be? I would have to bring this up with Balder as well. The more material I have, the more willing he may be to offer his knowledge.

_Thunk_

My axe embedded itself into the twenty-fifth trunk today, cutting into the thick bark almost halfway. Once I had yanked the axe out of the tree, I brushed my fingers lightly over the metal edge, feeling the firm iron press an imprint into my finger. I had to admit Hiccup had done an incredible job sharpening the blade. I don't understand why he insists on killing dragons when he is perfectly capable working as Berk's smith. He would prove useful, and wouldn't completely destroy the village.

_Thunk_

But no, of course he has to try and be like the rest of us and screw it up in the process. And then he doesn't even learn from his mistakes, because it just does it again and again. You would think that he would learn.

_Thunk_

And then in dragon training he has the opportunity to improve and he wastes it cowering, and pushing me out of my stance. Granted I wasn't in stance but I didn't need him to pull a self-sacrificing hero act on me, and then he had the audacity to make me afraid for his life.

I sighed as my frustrations were released. I put my axe over my shoulder and headed out of the forest to the village. I had a few minutes before the meet up with class began, meaning I had time to question Balder and get these nagging voices and thoughts out of my head. I pushed open the door and looked over to the bar. Sure enough, Balder stood there in his leather apron, chopping up some rather off-looking cabbage. I walked over to the tall bartender and opened my mouth to speak, but the stench of the leafy vegetables cause me to gag slightly.

Balder smirked when he looked up from shredding the probably inedible greens. "On the bright side, they're not as bad for your health as the farmer himself," He laughed at his own joke as he moved the cabbage to the side, only stopping his guffaws when he noticed my unamused expression. "This is why I prefer talking to Hiccup," he sighed as pulled out a sack of flour and a slab of yak butter, placing the two ingredients in a large bowl and rubbing into them with his fingers. "He knows how to joke around. You on the other hand are way too serious,"

"Balder, I need to talk to you," I stated "I need to know about what I did when I was younger," Balder looked at me as if I'd grown three heads, which would only be natural for such a trivial concern as childhood.

Slowly though, the bartender's questioning look turned into a cheshire grin that made me feel as though my privacy had been violated in some way. "Really?" he asked in a very strange and suggestive tone, but suggestive to what? I had no idea. "Want to relive the younger years? Because I would love to take you on a stroll through memory lane," he spoke so smoothly it was bordering on the lines flirty, but the 'I know something you don't' attitude pushed this aside.

"Look, I've been having these weird things going on in my head involving Hiccup," I said trying to get him to stop and listen to what I had to say. But this single statement sent Balder a huge misunderstood message.

"Woah, Astrid. You're a teen going through puberty, this is normal. But I don't need to know about what Hiccup does to you in your daydreams," I scowled at the middle aged man, but this only seemed to fuel the fire. "I must say though, out of all the boys you could've chosen; you managed to pick out the finest. Good for you," I groaned as the lanky lean adult continued. "So how long have you been thinking about the green eyed hunk? I'm going to guess at 2 years, wouldn't surprise me. That was when you caught him with his shirt off in the forge," That image instantly implanted itself into my mind. I could see Hiccup hammering a sword against the anvil, brown hair wet at the ends as sweat dripped down his face and along his neck. Muscles tensing and relaxing as they worked iron into shape, I visibly shuddered at the thought.

"Yeah, it excites you, don't it," Balder teased in a lustful tone. Infuriated I turned to leave; I was getting nowhere with him. He completely disarmed the subject and turned it into an embarrassing unwanted image that was now stuck in my head. The annoying part was where it wouldn't go away, but the worst part I didn't actually mind. In fact, I kind of liked it but that is just wrong. I'm a shield maiden, I don't want to marry. I hated marriage, I hated that image, I hated Balder, but most important of all I hated Hiccup.

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**I think I may have pushed boundaries with that topless Hiccup part, just wanted to make some of my female audiences drool. But still Balder's character had been developed by a lot considering chapter 4. Just a fair warning, this is a VERY deviating story, only slight changes come in at the moment but when we reach 'Break Point' you are going to be reading a WHOLE new HTTYD fic. Anyway see yaz laterz.**


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